Although I agree with many of your points Craig, I disagree with the 'flavor' of your post.
I find the use of this technology amazing and am surprised no one else has done it before on this type of application. I LOVE the resteraunt idea and capabilities. The ease and speed of paying your bill at the table is just one of those sci-fi ease of use things that makes life easier.
Now this is a bit of a stretch, as I don't know much about the OS of the 'surface', however I am hoping that a home version will come out in 2008, with a fully functional OS which can play games, run spreadsheets, and do all the media stuff we have seen in the demos.
I do agree with you that 'thickness' will be a big issue. If they can get it to a standard tabletop or desktop in which you can have your legs comfortably underneath they will be a lot more succesful.
I don't really care if the surface is called a touchscreen or something else as long as it reacts seamlessly as it appears to in the demonstrations
